Server, authentication server, content delivery system, and program

Abstract

A service provider server has management means which manages a user ID corresponding to a service user and a device IDs corresponding to an information processing terminals of the service user in association with each other.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An authentication server used in a content delivery system to deliver contents via a network to a plurality of an information processing terminals which are used by a single service user and which individually play back the contents, the content delivery system including a delivery server and the authentication server,
 the authentication server comprising: 
 a memory and a processor; 
 a control unit configured to: 
 manage unique information of each of the information processing terminals as the device authentication IDs and information relating to the single service user as a user authentication ID, and which collectively manages, ID management information representative of a relationship between the device authentication IDs and the user authentication ID; 
 respond to a content delivery request issued by the use of each device authentication ID from each of the processing information processing terminals; 
 acquire the user authentication ID collectively managed with each of the device authentication IDs with reference to the ID management information; 
 perform an authentication relating to the content delivery request by the use of the user authentication ID and device identification IDs to determine whether or not the contents are delivered to each of the information processing terminals and to determine whether or not the contents are taken over from one of the information processing terminals to another one with reference to the additional information; and 
 generates the additional information needed for taking over the contents between the plurality of the information processing terminals, the additional information being transmitted to the delivery server along with an authentication result and being used to continuously deliver the contents to the single service user even when the information processing terminals of the single service user are changed from one to another. 
 
     
     
       2. The authentication server as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a memory device which stores individual information included in the respective device authentication IDs and the user authentication ID; 
 wherein: 
 the control unit generates the additional information with reference to the individual information along with each device authentication ID and the user authentication ID. 
 
     
     
       3. A content delivery system for delivering contents via a network to a plurality of information processing terminals which are used by a ˜service user and which can individually play back the contents, the content delivery system having an authentication unit for authenticating a user and a delivery unit for delivering contents, the content delivery system comprising:
 a memory and a processor; 
 a control unit configured to manage, as a device authentication IDs, unique information of information processing terminals used by the single service user; 
 manage information relating to the single service user as a user authentication ID; and 
 collectively manage ID management information representative of a relationship between each of the device authentication IDs and the user authentication ID; 
 wherein: 
 the control unit responds to a content delivery request using each device authentication ID given from each information processing terminal to acquire the user authentication ID collectively managed with the device authentication ID with reference to the ID management information, and to authenticate the content delivery request by the use of the user authentication ID and device identification IDs to determine whether or not the contents are delivered to each of the information processing terminals and to determine whether or not the contents are taken over from one of the information processing terminals to another one with reference to the additional information; 
 the control unit further generating additional information which is needed for taking over the contents between the plurality of the information processing terminals, the additional information being transmitted to the delivery server along with an authentication result; 
 wherein: 
 the delivering unit continuously delivers, in response to the additional information and the authentication result, requested contents to the single service user even when the information processing terminals of the single service user are changed from one to another. 
 
     
     
       4. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3  comprising:
 a memory device stores individual information in association with each device authentication ID and the user authentication ID; 
 a control unit which generates additional information indicative of an additional condition relating to content delivery with reference to the individual information along with each device authentication ID and the user authentication ID; 
 wherein: 
 the delivery unit delivers the requested contents based on the additional information. 
 
     
     
       5. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the control unit acquires a using status of the user authentication ID, and generates the additional information based on the using status when the content delivery request from the information processing terminal used by the service user is authenticated. 
 
     
     
       6. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information indicative of a playback resolution of the user's information processing terminal that has requested content, and a resolution of content to be delivered is set based on that information. 
 
     
     
       7. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information indicative of a status of an authentication of the user's information processing terminal that has requested content, and the authentication is simplified based on that information. 
 
     
     
       8. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information indicative of a delivery target of the user's information processing terminal that has requested content, and a delivery path of the contents is selected based on that information. 
 
     
     
       9. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information relating to a DRM (Digital Rights Management) of the user's information processing terminal that has requested content, and a DRM to be set at delivery of the content is selected based on that information. 
 
     
     
       10. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information relating to QoS (Quality of Service) control of the user's information processing terminal that has requested content, and a priority of packets and/or a class to be set at delivery of the content is selected based on that information. 
 
     
     
       11. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information indicative of the additional condition relating to content delivery-includes information relating to QoS control of the user's information processing terminal that has requested content, and a band width to be guaranteed at delivery of the content is set based on that information. 
 
     
     
       12. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information indicative of an encoding format suitable for the user's information processing terminal that has requested content, and a delivery format at delivery of the content is set based on that information. 
 
     
     
       13. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information indicative of a start position of playback of content, and a start position of playback of the content is set at delivery of the content based on that information. 
 
     
     
       14. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information indicative of a CM viewing/listening history. 
 
     
     
       15. The content delivery system as recited in  claim 3 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information indicative of a billing history. 
 
     
     
       16. A content delivery method of delivering contents to each of information processing terminals of a single service user by using a control unit which authenticates the single service user and a content delivery server which delivers content, the information processing terminals individually playing back the contents, comprising:
 managing as a device authentication IDs, unique information of each of the information processing terminals used by the single service user; 
 managing as a user authentication ID, information relating to the single service user; 
 collectively managing ID management information representative of a relationship between each device authentication IDs and the user authentication ID; 
 responding to a content delivery request from each information processing terminal by the use of the device authentication ID, to acquire the user authentication ID collectively managed with each of the device authentication IDs with reference to the ID management information; 
 generating additional information which is needed for taking over the contents between the plurality of the information processing terminals, the additional information being transmitted to the delivery server along with an authentication result and being used to continuously deliver the contents to the single service user even when the information processing terminals of the single service user are changed from one to another; and 
 authenticating the content delivery request by the use of the user authentication ID and device identification IDs to determine whether or not the contents are delivered to each of the information processing terminals and to determine whether or not the contents are taken over from one of the information processing terminals to another one with reference to the additional information, by using the control unit; and 
 delivering requested contents in response to the authentication result, by using the delivery server. 
 
     
     
       17. The content delivery method as recited in  claim 16  wherein:
 the additional information indicative of an additional condition relating to content delivery is generated based on individual information recorded in association with the device IDs and the user authentication ID, and the delivery means delivers the requested content based on the additional information. 
 
     
     
       18. The content delivery method as recited in  claim 16  wherein a using status of the user authentication ID is acquired when a content delivery request from the information processing terminal used by the service user is authenticated, and the additional information is generated based on the using status. 
     
     
       19. The content delivery method as recited in  claim 16 , wherein:
 the additional information includes information relating to a DRM of the user's information processing terminal that has requested content and information indicative of a start position of playback of content, the delivery server delivering of the content adjusts based on that information.